The Central Coast’s Vandenberg Air Force Base was told by Air Force officials in August it’s no longer in the running to be the headquarters for the U.S. Space Force.
Some of the region’s congressional leaders want an explanation, because they believe the base should still be under consideration.
Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara and Democratic State Senator Dianne Feinstein of California say the Santa Barbara County base offers a number of unique advantages over other locations. They note it has a number of operational military and commercial launch facilities, and a large aerospace workforce.
The legislators want to know more about the metrics used to select the finalists for the headquarters. Bases in Alabama, Colorado, Texas, Florida, New Mexico, and Nebraska are still in the running.
Competition is high for the headquarters is high because it would mean an estimated 1400 new jobs for the community, as well as major projects to improve the base’s infrastructure.
